5. Dorothy Opens the Dinner Pail


"Now Tiktok," said Dorothy, "the first thing to be done is to find a
way for us to escape from these rocks. The Wheelers are down below,
you know, and threaten to kill us."

"There is no rea-son to be a-fraid of the Wheel-ers," said Tiktok, the
words coming more slowly than before.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Be-cause they are ag-g-g--gr-gr-r-r-"

He gave a sort of gurgle and stopped short, waving his hands
frantically until suddenly he became motionless, with one arm in the
air and the other held stiffly before him with all the copper fingers
of the hand spread out like a fan.

"Dear me!" said Dorothy, in a frightened tone. "What can the matter be?"

"He's run down, I suppose," said the hen, calmly. "You couldn't have
wound him up very tight."

"I didn't know how much to wind him," replied the girl; "but I'll try
to do better next time."

She ran around the copper man to take the key from the peg at the back
of his neck, but it was not there.